A group of researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Carnegie Institution for Science recently discovered that microbes in the intestine help the body increase the absorption of calories from food by extracting dietary fats.

When researchers at NIH and Celera published the first complete draft sequences of the human genome in 2001, many people assumed that the genetic foundation for a new and complete understanding of the human body and its functions had been achieved.

The large intestine is the organ that follows the small intestine but is the last part of the digestive tract before the waste leaves the body.
Formation and Orientation
The small intestine is on average about five feet long. It is composed of four distinct structural parts; the cecum, colon, and anus.
The cecum is the part of the large intestine that comes first. It is separated into three parts. The taeniae coli are three bands of smooth muscle. The haustra are bulges caused by...

The mouth is the beginning of the digestive system which takes in food and mixes it with saliva produced by glands located in the mouth.
Formation and Orientation
The first part of the mouth is the mouth cavity which contains the teeth and is limited by the lips, the roof, which is the hard and soft palate, and the floor of the mouth. This is the space where food is kept before it moves on to the esophagus. The orifice of the mouth is the line between the lower and upper lips and is...

The small intestine is the part of the digestive tract that follows the stomach and is followed by the large intestine.
Formation and Orientation
The small intestine is on average between 22 feet 6 inches and 24 feet 4 inches. It is composed of three distinct structural parts; the duodenum, the jejunum, and the ileum.
The duodenum is the part of the intestine where most chemical breakdown happens; it is also the shortest part of the intestine. It starts at the duodenal bulb and stops...

The stomach is the hollow organ that helps along digestion after mastication (chewing). It is the next step after the esophagus and before the small intestines.
Formation and Orientation
The stomach is composed of four parts. The cardia is the first part of the stomach in the digestive tract. It is the part of the stomach that allows the food to empty from the esophagus. The most northern part of the stomach is the Fundus. This section is the part that creates the curved part of the...